Astros sign former Yankees top prospect that got sent away in Joey Gallo trade

The ghost of the Joey Gallo trade will probably never go away, but New York Yankees fans can rest easy knowing more and more of the developments and ripple effects end up being in the team's favor.

Yes, Gallo was one of the worst Yankees in franchise history. There's no disputing that. But the folks who come out of the woodwork to claim New York "lost" that trade are just beyond ill-informed.

Brian Cashman surrendered four prospects in the deal, only one of which has panned out to be an everyday major leaguer in Josh Smith, who the Yankees were likely to lose in the Rule 5 Draft that year anyway.

As for the others? Ezequiel Duran fell off the face of the earth for the Rangers and is nothing more than a bench/Triple-A depth player. Trevor Hauver is heading into his age-26 season and has struggled at Triple-A in 2024.

And then there's Glenn Otto, who debuted for the Rangers in 2022 and made 27 starts, but was squeezed out of the rotation after Texas upgraded by signing Nathan Eovaldi before the 2023 campaign. He then suffered a lat injury in spring training last year and missed a lot of time. He was activated and optioned to Triple-A late last summer and then designated for assignment.

He landed with the San Diego Padres for a bit, but dealt with a shoulder injury before being DFA'd in July. Interestingly enough, he was just signed by the Houston Astros on Thursday.

Astros sign former Yankees top prospect that got sent away in Joey Gallo trade

By no means is anybody expecting this to "haunt" the Yankees, we're just pointing out how Otto has now bounced around to three different teams over the course of 12 months to further emphasize the Yankees felt they had better talent in the minor leagues.

Though Otto's MLB debut suggested he could be a long-term fixture in the Rangers' rotation, it certainly felt as if Texas quickly lost faith in the right-hander for whatever reason. They bumped him to the bullpen in 2023, where he struggled in six games, and then called off the experiment. He failed to get back on track in the Padres' minor-league system, and now Houston will take a chance because they need some minor-league pitching depth as they continue to promote their prospect pitchers.

We've said it before and we'll continue to say it: even though a majority of Cashman's "blockbuster" trades rarely pan out, he almost never surrenders a prospect or package of prospects that has fans feeling the utmost regret. He usually just strategically clears a path for the next crop of talent he feels is superior.

The only problem? The big-name acquisitions pretty much always faceplant when they become Yankees, and the "next wave" of prospects is almost never good enough, prompting another farm system clear-out another year or two later.

But as far as the Gallo deal goes, it was a lose-lose for both parties, no matter how anybody else tries to spin it.